Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2016
The Emergency Medicine Events Register: An analysis of the first 150 incidents entered into a novel, online incident reporting registry.
Incident reporting systems are critical to understanding adverse events, in order to create preventative and corrective strategies. There are very few systems dedicated to Emergency Medicine with published results. All EDs in Australia and New Zealand were contacted to encourage the use of an Emergency Medicine - specific online reporting system called the Emergency Medicine Events Register (EMER). ⋯ A focus on correct diagnosis, procedure performance and investigation interpretation may reduce errors in the ED. The ability to learn from incidents and make system changes to enhance patient safety in healthcare organisations is an inherent part of providing a proactive, quality culture.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2016
Use and knowledge of single dose activated charcoal: A survey of Australian doctors.
The use of single dose activated charcoal (SDAC) as a means of gastric decontamination is declining. The present study examined the potential use of SDAC in common overdose scenarios by Australian emergency doctors, compared with clinical toxicologists and current guidelines. ⋯ Our study showed that there is a significant variation in the use of SDAC between toxicologists and emergency doctors in some scenarios. Clinical toxicologists are more likely to administer SDAC in certain overdose settings. It is essential to provide education on the benefits versus actual risks of SDAC in acute poisoning so that doctors will understand when to administer SDAC or seek further advice.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2016
Patient intention and self-reported compliance in relation to emergency department attendance after using an after hours GP helpline.
To determine ED attendance and compliance with GP advice following a call to an after hours telephone triage and advice service. ⋯ An after hours GP helpline may divert some callers intending to go to the ED to other care. However, patient non-compliance may limit the capacity of telephone triage and advice service to reduce demand for ED. Further research is needed to better understand the effect of the service.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2016
Lower urgency paediatric injuries: Parent preferences for emergency department or general practitioner care.
Injuries are a significant proportion of lower urgency (triage category 4 or 5) child presentations to the EDs in metropolitan Melbourne. The purpose of the present study was to assess parental preferences and experiences regarding the treatment of lower urgency child injuries and the role of general practitioners (GPs) in such care. ⋯ Treatment provided in the ED for child injuries is valued highly by most parents, with a higher proportion of children with an injury being referred to the ED by their GP. Improving GP treatment skills and training opportunities may reduce GP referrals of lower urgency child injuries to the ED.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2016
Walk them or no leg to stand on! Diagnostic delay of neurologic conditions in young children.
Diagnosis of low incidence neurological conditions can be a challenge in paediatric emergency medicine. Neurological examination in young children can be very difficult, and medical staff may not previously have encountered conditions like acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis. We propose that the simple process of walking a child (provided they were previously ambulant) is the crucial step in the neurological examination. We present three cases to demonstrate this important part of the examination.